


In Another World

by ArtificalDawn



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Mystery, Psychological Drama, Romance, Seme Levi, Some Humor, Uke Eren Yeager
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-08
Updated: 2015-06-08
Packaged: 2018-04-03 11:12:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4098934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtificalDawn/pseuds/ArtificalDawn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren is severely injured during another expedition outside the wall. With humanities last hope barely alive and in a coma state all fingers are being pointed at Levi. Struggling with his feelings and what his duty is he falls asleep one night only to dream of a separate world where he meets Eren under different circumstances. </p><p>But is this world really any better?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sadness Like Virus

**Author's Note:**

> This is a test run. It was a random Idea I had. If no one takes a particular liking to it I may end up deleting it and starting from scratch. 
> 
> This is also my first time OFFICIALLY posting any fanfictions.

In these times, sadness spreads like wildfire. Each body they had to throw into the fires, each life left lost to the Titan war, it all caused a sadness like virus leaking through swollen veins and dirty palms. However, Corporal Levi of the Survey Corps knew of the price that everyone had to pay. No life had ever been left in vain, no soldier died without honor and humility. This is what kept him going. The pride of standing, and fighting, besides each recruit, each soul in this forbidden world it kept his faith alive. Despite this pride there was one thing that Levi always promised to do, to never fall in love with anyone. Their lives were left to the war, going anywhere beyond respect would be foolish. For a long time he managed to maintain this law, until Eren Jaeger came along.

"Levi... we have to consider the possibility that he might not wake up. The damage is extensive... and his internal organs are nearly crushed. They show no signs of healing, and even his wounds are bleeding still. We can keep him barely alive but... at some point..." Hange looked down unable to say the ending sentence. There was no other choices they could consider. Either Eren healed himself, or they had to accept the truth. Eren could be dying.

"Isn't there anything you can do?!" Mikasa, who was ordered to stay outside until further notice barged into the room. It was like losing her brother all over again. Maybe they weren't connected by blood, but Eren was her family, she thought she had lost him when that Titan swallowed him and bit off his arm. This was worse. If Eren died, it would be in vain, all because of Levi. The look on Hange's face let the dark haired girl know that she had done all she could do, and there was nothing else to do. The anger of the events had gone all around the Survey Corps. Even Jean who barely trusted the brunette was angry with what had happened. The only person who didn't seem effected by it, was the very same person who caused this to happen.

"We have him on a respirator, and I just replaced his bandages. His lungs are barely working, and his heart beat is slow. I'm going to stay with him just in case something changes but... unless he can start healing, there is no point in keeping him alive for so long for nothing." Hange, a well-respected woman in science, had no idea how to help humanities last hope. Even for someone known to be a little too excitable and a bit strange, her face was solemn with disappointment in her own abilities, and sadness for the life they were so close to losing. "If only he would heal...."

Mikasa was usually pretty quiet. She followed orders well and tried hard to do what she thought was right. This, it was unfair, to everyone, including Eren. Maybe Hange, or Armin, or Jean were not blaming the small male, but Mikasa would not hold back this time. "Are you happy Corporal?! If you had done your job and not gone after that Titan, if you had a little bit more trust in Eren's abilities he wouldn't be in that position! You should have let him handle it! I wouldn't have had to save you!"

In the back of his mind, Levi also knew this to be true. They were doing another expedition outside the wall. Erwin and ordered Eren to take care of a Deviant that was closing in on them. Erwin barely ever asked Eren to do something like that, so he jumped at the chance. Unfortunately he wanted to try and do it without his 3D gear. He got caught and just as he was about to figure out a way out of the Titans grip, Levi jumped in. Eren got distracted by the Corporal coming to save him that he forgot what he was doing. The Deviant closed his fists tightly. Even though Eren was not squished into nothing, the pressure did have a bad effect on his internal organs. Many of them crushed and the impact from the fall after Levi cut his hand cracked his head and scrapped himself up. The event with the Deviant worried the commander, and everyone went back to the base. It has been three days since that event and Eren still remained asleep.

"Mikasa..." Hangetried to step in but the look in the smaller male's eyes told her to be quiet as well. He closed his eyes and turned to Mikasa. What he was going to say might be harsh, but fact was fact, and no one can change reality.

"Jaeger is just another recruit. Titan shifter or not he knew what he was getting himself into. If he dies, we'll carry on without him. There is no point in mulling over it when we have more important things to do. Let's go." Turning his back to the scientist he walked towards the door and opened it. Many hues of different colors met his own eyes as he started to walk out. The mix of anger, disappointment, sadness, and defeat was both understandable and very sickening to the man. He cleared his throat in an attempt to ignore it. His eyes were as cold, and a stiff as ever. It seemed that losing such an important piece of the puzzle, had no effect on the corporal. He merely stood straight and walked through the sea of gazes. No one could see how really damaging this defeat had been. Eren was dying, and he could do nothing to save him.

That night as he laid in bed Levi started reflecting on everything since Eren was discovered as a shifter and sent to be trained and studied with the Survey Corps. He remembered the look Eren gave him when Levi asked if he hated him when he beat him up. It was amazing that someone so young could understand adults so easily. It was shameful that a kid like that had to endure such horror, to go from a child, to an adult in a matter of days, even Levi found it to be disturbing, but he couldn't change the past. It wasn't long until Levi started noticing the brunette. Even under the circumstances he was forced into, the boy can be really positive. He has no doubts that the humans will prevail and rebuild everything that they had lost. It might just be part of his immature brain. The much older man figured that after a few years in the corps he was sure to give up that useless dream, even though he started to really understand why the brunette was so desperately clinging to that idea. Anyone with any sense would want something to keep them hoping, Levi knew that well, and so did anyone that joined them. They knew their lives were on the line, but fighting meant they had a chance at changing the course of things. So yes, Levi knew what was so appealing about the idea of a much better world. He thought about it often.

Imagining a world where things were different. Everyday wouldn't be a fight for their lives. They could do things that they really wanted to do. Levi particularly enjoyed the idea of a world where lives were no rested on his shoulders, on his decisions. Maybe he could do something different, maybe be a better person or... maybe be a stronger person for Eren. Eren was always working so hard. It didn't take long for Levi to see that. The kid was determined, he kind of started to see the kid almost like his entire responsibility. Of course, to some extent it was. He would sacrifice life or limb for him, but when did these feelings become so prevalent in his everyday life. Either way, there was no point on dwelling on it now. He wanted to sleep. Slowly, the idea of dreaming, of letting go a little bit relaxed the Corporal, as he fell into a deep sleep.

The sound of a familiar voice speaking to him, and the undeniable heat of the sun force the man's eyes to open. Deep brown eyes opened to see the world. He turned to see Hange going on and on about a chemistry experiment gone wrong. "Anyway. I still passed the assignment because I did at least something." The female had her hair tied tightly into a pony tail with little hair free shaping the side of her face. A yellow shirt hugged her chest closely and white shorts hugged the small thighs the female had. She continued to go on and on while tapping her hand on her chemistry books. Levi seemed to be less than interested in the whole conversation. The only reason he was still sitting there was because it was shaded, but only barely.

The heat of the heat of the sun was piercing through his dark jeans and red button up shirt. He had a black vest to show his sides even though it was nearly 90° outside and it felt like they were melting. "Hey... let's go back to class okay. I'm dying out here." Standing at barely 5 ft he pushed himself up off the wooden table and grabbed his backpack. It was good that he wasn't taking too many classes at his college because he only had three books in his backpack and he felt as if he was carrying a million tons of weight. He waited for Hange to come follow him. The two have been friends for years so it seemed natural for him to wait. Once the much taller female was by his side he turned to walk to class but something knocked the wind out of him. He felt his body collide against something and himself and whatever it was he bumped into both fell to the heated asphalt. "Fuck... what the hell was..."

Who was this? His eyes opened to meet delicate, green irises. Levi stared for a few moments before he noticed that the kid who had bumped into him was a boy. He seemed a little shocked at first, maybe because of how hard he hit the ground but, this man was... beautiful. He seemed so skinny, and his clothes were pretty old, is the only way he could explain it. He hadn't seen him around lately so he must be new to the campus or here for some other reason.

"Sorry. I'm so sorry. I was running really fast." The brunette male began to shift and move at a very quick pace. Was he in a rush? Without giving Levi a chance to speak, the male had stood up, grabbed his backpack and took a run for it. The college student was now left in a complete state of absolute confusion and curiosity. He squinted his eyes, a little more than usual, and watched the figure run away from him. 'Strange... I've never seen someone act like that before.'

"Hm. What a strange boy. He might just be a new student." Hange let down her soft hand and assisted Levi in standing once again. As they were just about to walk off Levi noticed something shining on the ground. Leaning down, his slim fingers found what was a key, or something to that extent. It seemed to be really precious in some way. The way it was so well kept, really golden even though Levi could tell that it must be pretty old. He wondered if it had been there previous, or if it belonged to the boy he had just collided with. No matter what the case he put the key into his pocket and walked off with Hange to their next class. For the first time, someone actually left an impression on him, Levi had never been so curious before to know who someone was.


	2. Brat, meet Levi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi is finally able to return to key to the mystery boy, who seems very strange to the man. Could this be the beginning of something?

It's been a week since Levi had seen the boy he had run into. He had never been anxious to return anything before, if he found something that someone might have dropped he would usually opt to throw it away. Messes were really unsightly so he left it up to himself to clean up when he noticed something on the ground that should not be there. However, this key was different. Holding it in his hands he thought that it must be important. It was a strange thing to find extremely important. It didn't even look like it would go to any door or anything, but the way it felt against the palm of his hand led the man to believe that the key must mean something to the boy who dropped it. It was stationed very securely on a silver chain, so that meant that the owner must have wanted to keep it to him as close as possible. It was interesting to Levi.

 The summer heat was really starting to get to everyone. Professor Erwin was trying to teach the class, but with the air conditioner not working even their composed professor was having a hard time focusing on the lesson. Eventually he just gave up and told everyone to chat until class ended. Hange didn't even give Levi a chance to speak. The moment he turned around her eyes had nearly the same curiosity that Levi's had. "So, are you still thinking about that kid? You know the high school isn't too far from here. He could have been walking home or something." While the theory was interesting it made no sense. It was the middle of the day when they met, the high school still had a few more hours. None of the high school students ever even came to the college campus unless they were given a tour, which was only on weekends. The only plausible explanation is that whoever it was that bumped into him had to be a student at the university.

 "He's just a brat. He should have watched where he was going to begin with. People like that are uncivilized." Levi complained and he sight closing his eyes. Reaching into his pocket to grab some gum he always had in his pocket he felt the metallic key brush against his fingers. He really wanted to return it. Not only did it seem to be something important, but it was also taking up space in his jacket. He opened his eyes and removed his hand from the pocket without retrieving his gum. "It's irritating. He should have noticed that something was missing, he might not even be looking for it." Even though these words were leaving his lips, he felt more like he was trying to find an excuse to throw it away.

 Finally class had ended. Everyone was desperately trying to leave the hot room. Most seemed to be heading towards the water fountains to fill up their bottles, others were more hoping that their next class would be a lot cooler than Erwin's. It was a wonder why no one passed out in that room. Summer classes really sucked. Levi himself with Hange and Petra walked outside to go home. As they walked out to the scorching sun a familiar figure across the way caught Levi's attention. He noticed a wave of brown waves and thing arms looking through the grass near the asphalt. 'So he has been looking?' Clearing his throat the smaller male turned to the two girls who had been rambling on about something uninteresting to him he pushed his hands into his pockets. "I need to do something real fast. I see you later at the apartment." To save money, and time, for the three of them they shared an apartment together. Levi had no problem living with two girls, but some of the other male students seemed to have a problem with it.

 Once the two girls left waving goodbye Levi retrieved the key from his pocket and looked at it in his hand. He made a plan to get the other's attention and walked across the asphalt to the shaded grass. The boy still on the ground with his hands moved about the grass looked a lot younger than Levi had thought. He had only caught a glimpse of the male's face so maybe that was why he imagined him a little older. His frame was kind of small too, like he hadn't been eating well. After realizing how long he had been staring he sat down on the bench in front of the boy and crossed his legs. "Hey kid. You know, usually after bumping into someone you should apologize properly." Levi hadn't meant for that to come so irritated, but that was a natural tone in his voice. "The least you could do is stop for a second to explain yourself." Levi's brown orbs slowly lowered themselves to meet beautiful green eyes. This was definitely the kid he ran into, he wouldn't forget those eyes.

 For a few moments the boy just stared back at Levi. It looked almost as if he was in some kind of trance or he was confused or something. Maybe he was confused? Maybe he had forgotten that Levi was the person he collided with. After a few moments he saw the green eyes widened and become apologetic. "I... I'm so sorry. I was in a hurry so I must have seemed really rude to you." He pushed himself off the ground and looked down. His hand hovered to his chest as if he was trying to feel something that wasn't there. "I even lost my most important item after I made you fall." The boy was definitely taller than Levi. Not by too many inches, but he was taller.

 "This item?" Levi opened his fist a little bit, a golden key revealing itself from Levi's palm. The chain was wrapped around his finger so that they key were merely dangling. When he saw the look of surprise and happiness in the males eyes he knew that he had been right to keep it close to him. However, when the brunette began to reach for it Levi was quickly to pull his hand away and stand up putting it back in his pocket.

 "Why won't you give it back to me?" The boy's voice had a child like tone to it. He wondered if maybe he was a high school student. It was too confusing to guess.

 "You should know better than to just fucking knock people over and take off like you did. You might be in high school but you should be mature enough by now to look someone in the face and apologize with great sincerity."

 "High school?" The boy looked thoroughly confused by the notion that he was a high school student. This confused Levi as well. Was he wrong? "I'm a college student." He was wrong. Why did this kid look so young though. That thought was irritating.

 "The least you can do is introduce yourself. You made me hold onto this thing for a whole week. It's bothersome." Levi turned his head to look away from the boy. Why did he care who he was? He could just give him the key and all the crazy thoughts going through his head would disappear.

 "I'm Eren, Eren Jaeger. I'm in the art department." Eren backed away a bit and he held out his hand. "Can I please have my key back now?"

 How ungrateful? Levi attempt to scowl but his expression remained as plain as ever. He breathed in softly and placed the key delicately on the others hand. "You should take better care of your possessions brat."

 "Thank you!" Eren smiled as he placed the key directly around his neck. "I really appreciate you holding this for me." Levi could tell just from this kid's voice that Levi might regret the decision of holding it.

 "I didn't do it for you. If I had left that thing on the ground it would be unsightly. I tend to sit over here a lot, leaving trash on the ground is distracting." Long, slim fingers ran through Levi's hair. He dropped his hand and without saying much of anything else he had started to walk away.

"Wait." Eren quickly ran over to catch up to Levi and he smiled. "I don't even know your name. It's rude to walk away without introducing yourself as well."

"We aren't friends Jaeger. Why should you know my name?" This was irritating. He wanted to just leave. He did what he wanted to do right? He gave the kid his key back. Why didn't he just give him the key and leave, why did he have to ask his name.

"You know my name. I think it's only fair, don't you? I think, it would be uncivil to walk away without at least introducing yourself." The kid stopped walking and stood still. His hand was firmly wrapped around the key as he waited patiently.

 "Kids like you are annoying." Levi thought about maybe giving a fake name. That could work right? No, Levi was never the kind of person to lie. "My name is Levi Ackerman, I'm a literary major." 'Damn it Levi! What is wrong with you? Now the brat will never leave you alone?'

 "Nice to meet you captain." The brunette held his hand out waiting for Levi to shake it. Captain was something Eren just called him on a whim. It seemed to fit him though.

 Levi didn't stick his hand out. Instead he rolled his eyes and started to walk away again. Getting to know Eren would be a pointless endeavor to the older male. He had no reason to become friends or even acquaintances with him. He let the experience roll off his back as he walked home to his apartment. He was sure that Hange and Petra would start bombarding him with questions, ones he was not anxious to answer. Hange would probably want to do some social experiment based of this encounter, and the fact that Levi did something completely out of the ordinary. He liked helping people sure, but he hated dealing with things that would only become a nuisance to him.

 Eren Jaeger. It was kind of a strange and interesting name. He seemed to be of the optimistic type, the kind that no matter what happened to them he would find some what to make things seem brighter. However, he also seemed to be the kind that would be easily frightened by change or something abnormal happening. The weak but willful type. Levi had no other choice than to respect people like that. They may not be particularly talented, but they were special.

 Walking through the door Hange wasted no time throwing questions in every which way. Questions like: "What's his name?" "How old is he?" "What is the key for?" "What did he seem like?" and tons of other things. Levi got himself a bottled water that they always had stocked in the fridge and took a drink. He leaned against the fridge wondering if he would meet Eren again.

 "He's just a normal college brat. Who cares about the rest?" He pushed himself from the appliance and went into his own room to think.

  _Eren Jaeger... Eren Jaeger. He's such a brat._


End file.
